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So a lot of people have been asking me where the kindle/e-book version of my novel has been and the simple answer is . . . I did not realize it would take almost a month for everything to get smoothed out with the e-book provider. In either case I hope I can get you guys the e-book version out in the next couple of days, if I read it right.

The day has finally arrived and I can’t put into words the emotions I am feeling right now. It’s like a mixture of everything hitting me all at once. It has been a long, long road and I will have to put in more work than ever now that it is out. Marketing is so much fun. I’m currently working on the second book in the series and I can only hope that in the next coming years this does take off but even if it doesn’t I can still take solace in the fact that with a little help from my friends and those who supported me I actually got a novel out and into the world.

Well here we are at last. The proof has been proofed and after a few minor tweaks to the layout of the novel I am proud to say that as the title suggests my book S.I.N Gluttony will be hitting the internet by hopefully next Friday. I am more than excited to have it finally released and I will be doing my best to get my hands on a few copies to sign and give out to those that have supported me and believed that I could pull something like this off.

It is going to be an interesting year. Now my only issue is pumping out my next novel which I hope a lot of you will be eagerly awaiting.

The final stages of my novel being complete is coming to an end. The interior design is nearly complete and even now I am shaking. It’s unnerving not from the idea that my first novel may not succeed but rather I still am blown away that I was capable of creating something like this.

I guess you could say I never actually thought I would make any of my dreams come true. This started out as a hobby and I wish, I wish I could actually make a career out of this but I know that for a novelist to gain that kind of following and money it will take years upon years of hard work and with any luck I’ll be able to provide that hard work for everyone who may enjoy my books.

I want to thank everyone who actually believed in me and also those that kind of didn’t. I mentioned in another post that motivation is a tricky thing. I wrote this book for myself more than anything and when it comes down to it some people are motivated by the negative things in life. Taking negative comments from others, while most of the time should be ignored, can be a catalyst to ignite something amazing. Those negative comments didn’t necessarily spur me, as writing this book was not one based on negative thoughts, but I’d like to think that everyone feels good proving others wrong.

In anticipation for my soon to be released novel I am going to throw it out to all of you out there and I want to know what your favorite SIN is. This can be one that describes you to a T or something that you’ve always thought was the best or even the worst out there. Feel free to add a comment down at the bottom explaining why you chose that particular SIN.

This probably isn’t any new information to those I’ve spoke with on a daily basis or even a weekly basis but one of the highest hurdles that comes with trying to get a novel out and into the world is the cost. For anyone who lives in the mid-west we all know how terrible jobs pay in our section of the world although it is better than most. This makes it challenging to put out a novel as the cost of editing, purchasing ISBN numbers, and everything else that goes into a self-published book does cost a good chunk of change.

When I finished the first draft of Gluttony in the winter of 2012 I sat on it. I knew it would cost me an arm and a leg to get it professionally edited and at the time I had no money to my name. I tried my hand at self-editing my novel and the truth is if I would have done that I would not be here right now. I would have given up on writing and probably flipped a table or ten. I knew that I would need someone else, a neutral party, to make my novel better.

After a few months of research and shopping around I finally came across an editing service that offered a comprehensive look into my book and did not just hand back scribbles all over my manuscript. BubbleCow, run by Caroline and Gary Smailes, is a European editing company which adds a human touch behind their editing process. The cost was well worth the feedback. As mentioned it was not just a bunch of scribbles telling me what was wrong with my novel. They took it chapter by chapter and broke down how they felt about the book and outlined my strengths, weaknesses, what should be added, and what should be omitted. All in all it both boosted my confidence as a writer and helped hone my final draft. If you want to check out their website you can find it here.

After the final draft was wrote (which was a complete re-write in a lot of ways) I knew I had to grab those pesky ISBN numbers that are printed inside of every book and on every bar code. I also had to buy the bar code. That shocked me a little but all in all it was not a bad investment. For ten ISBN numbers (which can last you three books depending on if you put each book to three media types: hardcover, paperback and e-book) and a few bar codes it only ran me $350.

Thankfully I have an awesome friend that designed the cover and the interior of the book for a nominal fee. This was their first time venturing into such designs and as I said with the book cover showing I was more than impressed with what they have done.

So all-in-all for my very first novel it cost a little over $1200 dollars. Of course this means if I want to even consider this a success I will have to sell over $1200 dollars worth of books but the experience was well worth it as well.

Well here it is the (un)official cover for my upcoming novel. A close friend of mine worked their magic to create this cover and I found it to be completely awesome in terms of setting the mood for my novel right off the bat.

Feel free to let me know what you think of it. I am so very excited to actually see it in paperback form and in my hands in less than a month with any luck.